


Of Ice and Blood

by HappyFabulousManatee



Category: Naruto
Genre: But it's different later, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Follows original plot, Gods for guardians, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I'll figure this out I promise, I'm new to this, Just lots of fluff, Nightmares, Otherwise it'd be boring amirite, Slow Build, how does one unOP something, sounds OP maybe idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-01-30 18:09:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12658743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyFabulousManatee/pseuds/HappyFabulousManatee
Summary: Original work from fanfiction.net by the same author (Yours Truly, the HappyFabulousManatee)Abandoned, then saved. Lost, then found. A child who lost her past named after a monster. Her life has gone through ups and downs, but she fortunately manages to grow into a fine ninja, with a clever mind and a kind heart. But will she be able to truly find peace, to find love? Even if her past haunts her in her dreams?(First fic in Ao3 so please bear with me. Granny isn't used to all this fancy pancy stuff. :"))





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I want to start off saying, if my idea resembles in any way, somebody else's story, it's pure coincidence. I'm not kidding. Mononoke has been my OC for at least *counts fingers* ten years, and this is probably the first time I wrote of her. (Okayyy, to some, maybe the name might resemble Princess Mononoke of Studio Ghibli, although her name is actually San. Mononoke, my OC, is not her in any way. Her name was inspired by the movie, but that’s it :DD)  
> Okay enough blabber, let's get this show on the road!

Yorukami Daiten knew that his time was near. It has been seven days since his wife's death. According to the curse, he only have a week to get to know their daughter before joining his lifemate in the afterlife. But before he goes, Daiten's determined to leave her in safe hands.

As he looked down at his precious child, he felt a wash of guilt and sadness as he kissed her forehead. He didn't name her because he knows that her future guardian will. Bluish-green eyes shone up at him as the child cooed at her father. Daiten felt a tear streak down his face as he held her closer, his heart breaking. 

Daiten looked up as dusk starts to melt into night. He must hurry.

Jumping out of his hiding place in a tall tree, he thought back of what he did as he headed deeper into the forest.

He snuck out of his soul brother's home and escaped with his daughter.  Even though his soul brother had assured him that they will take care of her, Daiten didn't want to owe his friend before he died  . A stupid way of thinking  really  , but that's how he is. Besides, they already have a son to look after. There is no point in burdening them with **_his_ ** child.

Daiten landed  neatly  into the small clearing, and took a quick look around.  There was a quiet waterfall nearby, leading into a large pool before breaking off into different streams down the hill  .  The soft gurgling of the waterfalls were music to the ears, coupled with the tranquil melody of insects in the forest . The fair-haired man allowed himself a moment to take in the serenity.

Before he could decide whether this was a wise thing to do, a soft silver light begin to glow through the leaves behind him . 

It's here.

Quickly , in case he changes his mind, Daiten set his daughter down on a moss bed beside a large rock. He knows that this is the place where it will come to visit. Daiten rushed across the stream and hid in the bushes on the opposite side.

As he settled into his hiding spot, he heard soft crying from his child but Daiten silenced his aching heart.

_I'm so sorry I have to do this, Tenshi._ He sent a thought to his lifemate in the afterlife. _But you and I know that this is the only hope for our daughter._

Finally, his child’s future  maybe  guardian appeared. Assuming it didn't eat her first. It's a very big gamble Daiten took. But this creature would either be the killer or the saviour of their child.

The said creature stepped forth from the trees and Daiten had to suppressed a gasp of wonder and awe.

It was an ethereal being, with fox-like features and three dots on it's forehead that formed a triangle. It wore a formal silver and blue yukata and wooden clogs at it's feet. A beautiful jade bracelet was on its left wrist and in its right paw, it held a white fan. The most eye-catching decoration on the creature was a large jade beaded necklace.  In the middle of the necklace was a large white coloured bead and on the bead on it's exact opposite on the necklace, is a bead as black as the night .

It stepped into the glade with grace, its gaze sweeping across the clearing, when it landed on his child. Daiten felt his muscles clenched with fear and hope. The canine walked towards the child to get a closer look. Golden eyes blinked in surprise at the squirming ball of cloth at its feet. A small swish of it's fluffy tail displayed its curiosity.

Daiten held his breath as he watched the deity squat to observe his daughter. Then, he saw her chubby little hands reached to the deity, her cries of fear before turning to giggles of wonder. He winced  slightly  as he watched her fingers touched the white bead of the necklace the deity so loved.

Perhaps  it was the wrong thing to do.  Perhaps  he can meet his nameless child in heaven with his wife. That doesn't seem like a terrible idea. Doubt and misery began to cloud Daiten’s mind, but what the deity did next surprised him.

Instead of opening its deadly jaws to gobble the child up, the canine deity scooped the child in its arms, cooing her .

"What an ugly thing you are." The deity muttered as it rocked the girl back and forth. Daiten smiled in relief as the deity touched his daughter's face  tentatively .

 " I think … I'm going to call you Mononoke." A sly grin broke from the deity's face.

Daiten winced at the comment. The deity named his daughter as a monster. But then again, when he think about it, she was quite a little devil. She refused to sleep for her first three nights in this world, as if she was  terribly  annoyed that she was born.  But , Daiten managed to calm her down after he sang a love song he gave her mother. It was as if she knew the song.  Slowly  , she stilled and fell asleep as the words rolled off his tongue  smoothly  , like how a water ripples over rock in a stream .

The deity chuckled at the laughing child and went over to sit at the riverside, then began talking to the child  softly . Daiten could not hear its words, but that was alright. Daiten smiled through the bitter feeling in his heart. His time on this world is almost up.

Taking one last glance at his daughter, he teleported away from the unlikely duo.

* * *

 Soon, Daiten sat beside the memorial rock, written with all the names of fallen heroes. He traced the name of his love as tears rolled down his face.

"I'm coming, my love." He whispered as the moon reached it's peak.

A soft breeze blew in the trees, before finally settling in silence again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea, okay so if you're an old reader, I'm actually editing everything all over again because I feel like Momo's story needs improvements so don't worry if it's not as you've remembered, okay? :DDD


	2. Forgotten

Grinning from ear to ear, Mononoke was almost at her breaking point at her newest great idea. The little girl came up with so many pranks from the moment she could walk. And she bet all of hersilver hair this is going to be the best one yet!

Mononoke crept as slow as she could towards the large slithering tail as it waved from side to side. The black stripes against the golden fur were very bright on the long tail. It made the child a bit dizzy watching it curl here and there. She shook her head, and closed her eyes to shut out the bright colours. Once she felt she was better, she opened them again and bared her teeth with determination. Stalking closer and quieter, like a hungry predator, she managed to get right behind her prey. Wiggling her body with anticipation, she licked her lips before counting down silently to herself.

One, two...

"ARRRGGHHH!" A great roared echoed across the glen as the tiny child pounced and bit down on the tiger deity's soft spot.  Greats bawls of laughter echoed through the gathering as the god brought his tail to his face . The elegant features of the tiger scrunched into a funny expression as he squinted at the girl hanging from his tail. He wasn’t sure if he should get mad or laugh at her latest trick.

"Mononoke." Taruga warned  sternly . She pulled back her lips into a sheepish grin, her teeth still sunk in his tail, "Heh. Hi, Tawuga-sama." He gave a soft growl as he wagged her from side to side, and the child giggled as she swayed along.

The deity sighed and looked over at his friend, "I swear, Gintaro, your human will be the death of me one day."

Gintaro, still wiping his tears away at his godchild’s latest prank, smirked, "Oh, my old friend. You know you love her as much as I do."

Taruga sighed and gripped Mononoke’s waist with one of his giant paws,  gently tugging her off his tail.

Obediently , she released her mouth, but only because his fur was tickling her mouth and nose like a bad itch. Taruga pressed her small cheek with the tip of a toe pad. The child tried to bite it but he gave her nose a small poke before setting the little troublemaker down into Gintaro's great arms.

Mononoke snuggled into the familiar spot and clutched  tightly onto her guardian, but not before sticking out her tongue mischeviously at the tiger deity. Gintaro chuckled, tucking her hair behind her ear, "One day, kid, someone is going to eat you up and I won't be there to save you." Mononoke snorted and looked up at him, showing him her most ferocious face, athough she just looks like a grumpy puppy. "Don't wowwy, I'll  just eat them fwirst." She announced proudly.

The other deities started chuckling at that, but the gathering soon hushed as another deity stepped into the ring.

"Well, I won't know how you're going to eat  _ me _ , little one." A soft growl said kindly. Mononoke blinked at the newcomer before giggling shyly. She nestled deeper into Gintaro's warm body to bury her face into his fluffy chest as a large horned head tilted towards her.

The most powerful of the deities: Tenryu, the dragon of the sky. Tenryu smiled gently at her and she gave a soft squeak. He was a beautiful, awesome dragon, with ethereal scales that gleam the colours of a noon sky. His piercing blue eyes always seemed to stare into one’s soul.

Mononoke was terrified of him but she loved and respect him with all her heart. She finds it a peculiar feeling but she really does love the celestial being.

The dragon chuckled as his large claw patted her head  gently , “At peace, little one. I would never eat you.” But his face turned serious when he turned to Gintaro and the pleasantness in his voice was gone, "Gintaro. A moment."

Mononoke felt Gintaro's heart skipped a beat under her fingers. The child looked around in confusion but the other deities were already walking away. Did Gintaro did something bad?

Taruga hesitated, and looked down at the child in his soul brother’s arms. He and the child exchanged glances before they turned back to Gintaro. But Gintaro  just nodded and gave the tiger god a fake smile. Taruga had a sad look in his eyes when he patted his good friend's shoulder and left.

In a few moments, only the three of them were what that's left of the clearing.

"You sure you want to dismiss the Gathering because of me?" Gintaro asked shakily, a tease hidden in his voice. It was his way of hiding when he’s anxious. Mononoke felt scared as Gintaro’s body began to smell like worry. She dig into his silk robe, feeling his soft fur shift underneath her tiny fingers.

It took a long time before Tenryu sighed and looked down at the child. His weary face caused her to be even more distressed as he curled her hair along his claw, letting it fall down like a waterfall. Very little things managed to affect the peaceful being.

"It's time to let her go, Gintaro." Tenryu’s exhausted voice was soft, but it pulsed in Mononoke’s ears.

Let who go? She wondered, unable to fathom as to why the dragon god seemed so sad. Gintaro replied, his voice tight, "I''ll try to make her behave next time, Tenryu.  Just -"

The dragon lifted a clawed hand, "You know that I'm not speaking of that." Tenryu glanced at Mononoke before looking back at Gintaro, "I understand that it must be hard for you to part with the child. You have raised her well, and are attached to her. As so do we all. But the child is human. We are immortal. I do not want you to have a broken heart if anything happens to her, Gintaro." Gintaro didn't reply him and hugged the little one a little tighter. Mononoke winced slightly but allowed her tiny presence to give her guardian comfort. Mononoke didn’t understand what they were talking about but she doesn't like it when Gintaro’s sad.

Tenryu sighed as he scratch Mononoke’s cheek with quiet affection, "We all love you very much, little one. It's been a long time since us immortals have something so pure to enjoy. These four years have been  pleasantly hectic since Gintaro decided to adopt you. But you've been away from the human world for far too long."

Terror ripped through Mononoke as she heard his words. Did they want to give her away? Did the gods not love her anymore? She had seen what some of the meaner deities did to their children when they didn’t love them anymore.

She turned back at Gintaro, but his eyes were closed painfully. His heartbeat thumped so hard, it felt as if it was going to burst. But neither Gintaro or Tenryu look angry or hateful, so it must not be that. Right?

"If, it's any consolation," Tenryu's voice  was hushed , "We will always be nearby to protect you." Tenryu’s large claw pressed against the little girl’s forehead, and she felt the cold blade send a chill through her whole body, although it wasn’t uncomfortable. "Not only Gintaro, but me and Taruga. The other deities may or may not help as they  are known to be fickle. But, we have and will watch you grow. At least we can enjoy some infuriation for a few more years."

Mononoke tried to say something to Tenryu. She wanted to know what he was talking about but Gintaro turned away  quickly before she could utter a word, "That's enough, Tenryu, I know what to do."

Without another word, great canine guardian walked away from the dragon god.

Gintaro kept on walking, his eyes trained forward. He didn't speak for a long time. Mononoke kept stealing glances at her guardian but her young mind was still in a whirl.

What did Tenryu-sama mean? Mononoke couldn't wrap her mind around it. It was all so sudden. Was it because she bit Taruga-sama? She swear she’ll be a good girl next time. She didn't want to go away. She wanted to stay with Gintaro and everybody forever! She-

"Mononoke."

The child looked up at the mention of her name. Gintaro's golden eyes were mournful as he set her down on the forest floor. He placed his great paw on his godchild’s cheek, rubbing it with his large thumb. Mononoke gave him a tiny smile and squeezed it  tightly , looking up at him. Tears began to form in his brilliant eyes.

"Mononoke, I don't want to do this but Tenryu is right. It's time for you to go back. It's not safe for you here."One teardrop fell and landed on Mononoke’s face. It felt cold.

She started to open her mouth to apologize but his thumb touched it gently and she remained silent.

"You know too many secrets of the world, my child, and for this burden to  be placed on you, I am very sorry." He pulled her close and Mononoke reached as far as her little hands could to hug him back. “It’s okay, Gintaro. Everything’s gonna be okay.” she said, trying to make him feel better. She felt his arms around her squeezed  tightly , his whole body shivering. Mononoke could almost hear his heart break.

"I will make you forget everything you saw, so that it won't be so hard on you."

Mononoke blinked once in understanding, and tried to pull back but it was useless. Gintaro was three heads larger than a grown man, and she was just a midget.

A sob shook her whole body as she felt her thoughts, feelings and memories slipping into darkness, a part of her soul emptying out.

Then everything turned black.

* * *

Wandering, wandering.

The forest felt familiar yet strange.

She didn't know where she was going.

Wandering, wandering. She had woke from a deep sleep but she doesn't remember how she got here. Where is here anyway?

A name?

A name.

Mononoke.

Yes, her name is Mononoke. Wandering again.  _ Where am I? _

She stumbled over a root but managed to keep her balance.  _ Who am I? _

A trickling sound reached her ears.  _ What is that? _

Water. That's water.

Thirst. She felt thirsty. She needed water. She started to walk faster, following the sound.

Soon she came to a stream, a river. A large one. But it didn't move  quickly . A slow steady river. She felt so tired, so very tired. She fell on all fours and began to crawl towards the miraculous source. Cupping her hands into the stream, she lifted the sparkling liquid to her lips and gulped.

Paradise.

She scooped again and again until she was quite full.

Content, she fell back on the grass and looked up at the sky.

Sky. Something reminded her about the sky. But she couldn't, for the life of her, remember what it was. She felt a pang in her heart.  _ What is this? _

Mononoke lifted a hand to touch her belly, and felt something. It was bitter cold and scalding hot at the same time. Curious, she pull up her shirt to look. A large squiggly thing with strange words around it was on her stomach.

What is it?

She traced the swirl, hypnotized by it, when she heard a noise and looked up.

A deer. It looked at her for a heartbeat before it pranced off.

She blinked. What was that all about?

Getting up, she tried to follow the deer's path.  Maybe it knows where to go.

Following, following.

Then the deer disappeared. Mononoke realized she was somewhere in the woods where everything seems darker. Where is this place?

The plants here were thicker, the trees taller and scarier.

The forest was still. Quiet.

She looked around. No one?

No.

Someone is here. She looked into the trees. Who is it?

Turning in a circle, she could feel someone. Or  _ someones _ . There's a few.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she asked aloud, hoping that someone would answer her. Then, a small rustle. She turned to face the source but no one was there. She squinted into the darkness and saw a shadow, a few feet away from her, in the bushes.

"Hello?"

She moved closer to the shadow, curiosity filling her. "Who are you?" She asked. But the shadow didn't reply. Instead it began to move closer towards her.

Wrong. Something is _very, very, very_ _wrong_. Curiosity turned to fear in an instant and she turned to run back to the place she was before. She heard it following her, its footsteps loud and ominous. She tripped over a root but managed to scramble away in time to see the shadow's true face.

She didn't know what it was but it scared her senseless. She gasped as it grunted at her and began pawing at the ground, its tusks gleaming. Frantic, she looked around for something to defend herself with.

Then, she saw the little ones. Smaller versions of the creature before her. That’s when she sensed the protectiveness of the creature over the small ones.

Fear froze her in place as the creature began to charge at her. She couldn't move.

So she screamed, closing her eyes as she brought her arms to her face and braced for impact.

She heard an ugly, squelching noise as something thudded in front of her. Then silence. But she didn't feel any pain. Mononoke cracked open her eye a little before both eyes grew as wide as saucers.

Large icicles shot out of the ground in an arc in front of her, the largest one piercing the creature, red water flowing from its body and along the ice .

Blood. The word sliced through her mind once she laid eyes on it. She’d seen it before, although she doesn’t remember where or when or how. And the creature. There is a name for it. It's a boar. She remembers now. She breathed in shakily, the smell of death was strong. What else does she remember?

...Nothing. Nothing else. The young boars squealed with terror and mourn as they hid behind the bushes. She saw them and felt a pain in her heart.

Mononoke tried to stand but only managed a wobble before falling on her behind.

Before she could stand again, she heard a different kind of rustling and looked up.

The someones are here. Four of them. They wore masks of animals so she couldn't see their faces. Before she could wonder why they wore such funny masks, one of them asked, "Who are you?"

She gulped and replied, her throat itching, "M-My name is Mononoke."

They were quiet for a moment before another one asked, in a gentle voice, "What are you doing here, little girl? You're supposed to be home, aren't you?" Her question confused the child, "...What do you mean?" She stood up on unstable legs, "What are you talking about?"

"Where are your parents? We can take you home, if you want." Another one asked. He sounded kind, but their questions made her even more confused, which threatened her. Why are they asking her these things? What are parents? What is home?

"What's wrong?" He asked again, and Mononoke felt her face twisted a little. Too many questions!

Frustrated, she screamed and held her head, shaking  furiously .  The sound of the earth cracking made her looked up, fear causing her eyes to burn.

More icicles shot out, causing the people to jump out of the way and land in the tree branches above. The ice glowed  slightly , as if it had inner light, casting soft colours into the forest. Wracking with sobs, Mononoke crumpled on the ground.

"Idon'tknowIdon'tknowIdon'tknow..." She chanted, over and over again, pressing her forehead against the ground.

She could hear them talking  quietly among themselves in the trees. She just wanted them to leave her alone. Finally, she heard one of them drop to the ground and walked towards her. She could feel their footsteps coming closer.

"Mononoke... Come with us.” She twisted her head slightly to look at one of the masks watching her. "We'll take you to someone."

She flinched away when he came closer. Seeing this, he sighed, "Please don't make this harder, kid. It's better to come with us than stay out here. There are wild animals and bad men here." He stretch a hand towards her.

She didn't want to trust him. She didn’t trust strangers. But for some odd reason, she felt a small pull towards him, as if something told her that he wouldn't hurt her. That she should trust him.  Slowly , Mononoke reached to him and touched his fingertips  lightly . Then the pull grew stronger. Her heart felt a strange ache. She looked into his mask, but it showed no emotion as he waited for her patiently. Finally, she took his hand and he pulled her out of the nest of icicles.

"I have a small question for you, is that okay?" He asked  softly as he squat in front of her. Mononoke thought for a moment before dipping her head a little.

"What are you doing here?" His question made her heart quicken.  _ What am I doing here? _ She started breathing faster. _ Why am I here? _

He must’ve sensed her panic before shaking his head hurriedly, "That’s okay. Never mind me. Here, hop on." Mononoke watched dumbly as he turned around and gestured to his back, "I'll carry you."

Obeying his request, she climbed onto his back. He stood up and tilted his head at the others, "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No lie i feel like crying after editing the older piece. And can you imagine? I HAVE 40 OVER CHAPTERS LEFT TO EDIT. CRIES


	3. Friends

In order to get to their destination quicker, the masked people started to jump from tree to tree. They were quick but very quiet on the way. Mononoke felt she wouldn't even know they were passing by if she had remained on the ground. As the man leaped from one tree after another, she loved the rush of the wind on her face. It felt so nice. At least her head stopped hurting now.

"Can you teach me?" she asked the masked man. The man turned his head slightly to look at her surprised that she was speaking to him, "I beg your pardon?"

"Can you teach me to fly like you?" she asked again, louder this time and she heard him chuckled, “Maybe."

Then he started moving faster, and the forest around melted into a blur. Mononoke giggled and held on tighter as the air danced through her hair and clothes.

Suddenly, they stopped, and Mononoke lurched forward a little and gasped. The suddenness of many sounds caught her by surprise. They remained within the trees but they were close to a large gate. There were a few men standing nearby the gate, watching out at the road. From her vantage point, Mononoke could see a few people moving in and out of the gate, holding bags and stuff.

"That's the entrance to the village of Konoha. But we are not going through there." The masked man told her. Mononoke turned to look at him in wonder, "Why not?"

A small laugh escaped from the mask, "I’ll tell you a secret... We have a special way to get in."

Mononoke eyes grew big in wonder, "Really?"

He nodded once. In the next moment, there was a rush of wind. Mononoke felt light-headed. Then she realized her hair hung above her. She looked up to see that she was upside down on a ceiling.

A grunt made her turned her attention to an old man who sitting down behind a desk, with lots of paper piling around on and around the desk. There was a pipe in his hand and smoke billowed from his nostrils. Mononoke thought his hat looked funny.

The masked man dropped down from the ceiling, landing quietly. He dropped to a crouch to let Mononoke slide off his back before standing up. Mononoke looked around and realized that the other mask people weren’t there, letting her wonder where they went.

Then the masked man stepped forward and bowed a little, "Lord Hokage, our group found this child roaming dangerously close to the Nara territory. However, she doesn't seem to have any memories." The masked man looked as if he wanted to say more but he fell silent as he took a step back.

The old man nodded and drew out a long puff of smoke that curled around his face. He placed his pipe on the table before he stood up. He walked around his desk to stand in front of it, moving close to inspect the child. "I see,” he laced his hands behind his back, as he registered the young girl, “Do you at least know your name?" The old man asked.

"My name is Mononoke." She replied in a quiet voice. The old man’s eyebrows raise in surprise but he quickly recovered, his face gentle as he spoke to her.

"Very well, Mononoke. My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, but you will address me as Lord Hokage. Is that understood?"

Mononoke nodded. The Hokage pondered for a moment before he continued in a softer voice, as though as he was speaking to himself, "Hmm… But for now, you’ll need a caretaker to look after you."

Without a second thought, Mononoke turned to look up at the masked man, "Then, can you take care of me?" Both men seemed taken aback at the little girl’s boldness. The masked man turned to the Hokage to see his reaction to the child's request.

"Oh? Any specific reason why?" The old man inquired.

"I want him to teach me how to fly." Mononoke replied immediately.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow at the masked man, a look of amusement hidden under his serious demeanour. The masked man scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "We were running in the forest and I had her on my back. It was a faster way to travel through the trees."

A soft chuckle escaped the Hokage's lips, "Ah.. Of course." 

Turning back to Mononoke, he smiled kindly, "As I can see, it seems that the both of you have taken a liking to one another. Very well. I suppose I can take Kakashi off his ANBU duty to be your caretaker for the time being."

The masked man gave a sigh, before scratching his neck as the Hokage spoke. Mononoke noticed that he doesn’t seem very happy about that but she really wanted to learn to fly like he did.

"Well, it is my last time to patrol around Konoha. I suppose being a babysitter would be a decent change." Kakashi said wearily. Last time? Patrol? What’s that supposed to mean? Before Mononoke could ask, the Hokage interrupted her.

"So now that this is all settled, both of you can go get to know each other." Sarutobi smiled as he took his pipe from his desk.  

Before anyone could react any further, Mononoke ran to the Hokage. She hugged his legs and smiled at him, “Thank you, Mister Hokage.” He was so taken aback that he didn’t replied. But it didn’t matter because she turned back to who she now know as Kakashi, smiling, "When do we start?"

When the both of them left the room, the Hokage took in a breath from his pipe before huffing it out with a small smile. Various thoughts began to cloud his mind. He watched the smoke curled up into the air, “Mononoke, is it? I’d never thought.”

 

* * *

 

Three Years Later 

She was mad. Angry. Very very unhappy. Mononoke scowled deeply at Kakashi as he continued reading his dumb book. She squinted at the book that was blocking his view of her grumpy face. Okay maybe she did try to steal and read it once, out of curiosity’s sake, and boy, was he mad when he found out. Said it wasn't for kids and all that.

But that's not the point why Mononoke mad.

"I'm not going." Mononoke stated for what probably was the ninth time.

Kakashi ignored her again, flipping a page over.

Fine then, she'll try a different tactic. Whining mode activated.

"Kaaakaasshiiii..." Mononoke whined as she nudged my head on his shoulder a few times. No reaction was made. She started to rub the top of her head back and forth along his upper arm. “Yooouu proomiisseeeedddd..”

Finally, he sighed, "I'll teach you when you're older."

Her head snapped up in a flash as she glared at him right in the face, "You always say that!"

“Well, you aren't older yet.” He replied as he turned another page.

Mononoke leaned back, fuming as she crossed her arms. She scooted aside and turned away from him.

He sighed again. Mononoke heard him close his book but she still ignored him. She felt him pat her head gently, "Kid, even I had to learn the basics before I got this good. Besides, you're a smart kid, it shouldn't be too hard for you." Still, she refused to look at him as she stuck her bottom lip out.

Kakashi leaned over the couch to look up at her face, "How about a deal? You go to the Academy for a month, and then you decide whether you to leave or to stay."

Mononoke thought about it for a moment, then glanced at him, "What happens if I choose to leave?"

She could tell immediately that a smirk formed under his mask, "In that case, you can't be a ninja." Mononoke whirled back to growl at him, "That's cheating!"

He just shrugged "Well, if you want to be a ninja, you have to go through the Academy." Turning away with a huff, she muttered, "But I want you to be my teacher."

Kakashi looked at her pouty face. It was infuriating but also very cute. He doesn’t know how to handle this handful of trouble sometimes.

He hummed for a moment, thinking, before he spoke again, "How about this? If you get to graduate and be a Genin, you'll be assign to a team. Then, I can be your teacher."

He knew he got her this time. She turned to him suspiciously, squinting. He smiled reassuringly, reading her mind, "Well, I can't exactly teach at the Academy, I still have missions to do, kid." Sighing, Mononoke gave up, "Okay. I'll go."

One point to the older man.

"Ah, alright then. How about we go out for dinner tonight?"

 

* * *

 

The first day of school.

How Mononoke dread it.

Kakashi tried to soothe her anxiety this morning but the moment she saw the look on the parent's faces, she just knew things weren't going to work out well. The moment they saw her and Kakashi together, they began to whispering and glancing her way before looking back at Kakashi.

On the other hand, for once in his life, Kakashi wasn't terribly late. Well, late enough to miss roll call but not late enough for the Hokage's speech. Mononoke tighten her grip on Kakashi's hand and he squeezed it once. "It'll be okay." He whispered and trying to be optimistic. Mononoke nodded in understanding but she still pressed closer to him anyways.

Sarutobi was talking about what a grand day it was because a lot of kids have enrolled this year and that he was proud to have so many talented children that will learn many things here, etc etc. Mononoke shook her legs to get rid of the numbness. Grandpa Sarutobi sure can talk a lot.

Finally, the newbies were assigned to different classes.

Kakashi took a look through her schedule and nodded in satisfaction, "You're in Iruka's class. That's good." Then, he squatted to be on eye level with Mononoke. She was biting her lip, looking at the parents and children worriedly. Kakashi smiled, before tucking her hair behind her ear, trying to pacify her, "You'll be fine, kiddo. Just make sure not to break anything. You’d be a terrible ninja if you went around dropping stuff all over."

She relaxed a little at the joke, “You wish. I’m going to be an awesome ninja like you!”

Ruffling her hair, he nodded, "That's my girl. Now go on. You know where to go."

Mononoke blinked before looking down at her schedule on the piece of paper. Typical Kakashi. He told her where and what to look for and sent her on her way. But she knows he isn’t worried. Like he said, she was a smart kid. She could handle it.

* * *

Iruka-sensei is a really nice man. Mononoke decide when she watched him greet the other children as they went into the classroom. He has a warm trusting smile that draws people in. When Mononoke had successfully located and walked into the class without a problem, he immediately came over and bend down to speak to her.

"Hello there, I’m Iruka-sensei. I suppose you're the one with Kakashi-san just now, huh?" He asked, smiling. Mononoke nodded, a little embarrassed at the way he looked at her as he continued, "So what's your name?"

"Mononoke." She replied. Instead of being slightly shocked like how a lot of people had been, he merely smiled as if it was a very normal name to hear. Maybe Kakashi told him about her beforehand, Mononoke thought

"That's a nice name." he said.

Mononoke blinked at his reply. He grinned at her, "It's very nice to meet you, Mononoke. I hope we'll get along well."

Mononoke returned his grin and thought to herself, 'Maybe coming here isn't so bad after all."

He then gestured to the half-filled classroom, "Go and take a seat while waiting for the others to come in, all right?"

Obediently, Mononoke followed his instructions and sat beside a boy with dark brown hair. The reason she sat with him was because he has facial markings like she did. Although his were red fang markings on his cheeks and hers were just black upside down arcs on her cheek bones. It was nice to have someone that shared something cool like that.

He grinned at her as she settled beside him, "Hi! I'm Inuzuka Kiba!" His enthusiasm was infectious but Mononoke was a little bit cautious. She tried making friends once, at the playground, but the other kids laughed at her because of her strange name and had turned her away.

"Mononoke." She replied slowly, gauging his reaction. She almost expected him to wrinkle his nose in disgust, or snigger at her. But he did neither. Instead, he cocked his head, "What's your last name?" 

Well, she never saw that coming. She doesn't exactly have a last name because she doesn't have one from the first place. But now when she thought about it, she never saw the use of it until now.

Before she could answer, Iruka-sensei had interrupted them and called for attention. "Alright, so I need to make sure everyone is in class so I'll just do another roll call." He said and the kids grew excited, though Mononoke hardly could understand why. He’s just checking if everyone made it to class.

He began ticking off names, hands were raised, replies were excitedly given. He have pass the last names starting with 'H'. Mononoke placed her head on the heel of her palm thoughtfully. Does that mean Kakashi didn't write his last name beside hers? If so, what did he write? Maybe nothing?

"Mononoke." She snapped out of her thoughts and quickly raised her hand at the sound of her name, "Here!"

The classroom fell considerably silent.

_Oh, boy._

A few whispers began to spread like a wave of dread. Mononoke could hear a few of them that were close by.

"Did he say 'Mononoke'?"

"Isn't that supposed to mean 'demon' or ‘monster’ or something?"

"Does that mean she is a demon? That's scary..."

She saw a few glares and glances at her.

There it is. The taunts are going to start.

Just because Kiba and Iruka-sensei didn't mind doesn't mean the other kids wouldn't. Mononoke tensed up as she braced herself for what was coming.

On cue, a voice piped up loud, "She's a demon who's here to eat us!" A paper ball was thrown at her head.

Mononoke winced, not because of the ball, but at the comment. She bets Kiba is going to avoid her now. Everyone is going to. They always do. She didn’t know why she thought this place wasn’t so bad.

"Knock it off!" Someone scolded. Surprised, she realized the voice came from beside her. Kiba was baring his teeth at the kids that jeered at her, "Leave her alone!"

"I bet she's going to eat you first, dog boy!" Another voice said. A few kids snickered at that, another one making barking sounds.

"THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH!" The room hushed as everyone turned to look in front.

Iruka-sensei had an intimidating gaze as he looked at the class, "No one is to make fun of others like that. Whoever who had just said she's going to eat you and threw that paper ball, I know who you are and you will see me after school. Or else I will tell your parents what you did. If I see anything like this going on again, there will be punishments. But since today's the first day of school, I would like to start off in a good, fair way. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir." The class said in unison.

Some glares were still thrown Mononoke’s way but she couldn’t be bothered to care anymore. She was too engrossed in her own thoughts. Just because her name means 'demon' doesn't mean that she is one, so why do they have to think that way? Why must they be so... mean? Or are they right?

"Hey, you okay?" Mononoke heard someone spoke to her. She turned to see Kiba had lean over slightly to look at her closely.

Mononoke nods her head and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine." Before he could say anything, she added quickly, looking away, "Y-you know, you don't have to do that just now. A lot of them might not be your friends anymore. S-so, if you don't like me, you can-" 

"I know what it feels like." Kiba interrupted her. Blinking, she turned back to him and he continued with a smile, "The other kids always make fun of me because I'm like a dog, ya know, with my teeth and stuff." He bared his teeth a little showing his canines, "See? And it kinda sucks to get picked on. It's not nice. Besides, you heard what they called me. They don't like me much either."

"But-" she protested but he just grinned, "It doesn't matter. You're my friend now and friends always got your back!"

He thrusted his pinky finger to her, "I'll swear on it, if you don't believe me!" Mononoke hesitated but he reached over and pulled her hand to lock pinkies with his.

"There! Now we're friends!" He announced gladly and Mononoke felt as if a big rock fell off her shoulders. She gave him the biggest grin she could give, "Yeah!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally updated this aaahhhhh I'm sorry y'all i work really slow. AT LEAST I WORK RIGHT???


	4. Some Getting Used To

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof I took hella long to edit this I'm so sorry aaaaaahhhhhhhh I don't know if I said this before but this story is already completed but I still need to edit it so it wouldn't be such an eyesore. I'M SORRY IF YOU STILL GET SORE EYES FROM THE GRAMMAR THOUGH. I'M TRYING MY BEST

Months have passed since that horrible first day. 

Although Mononoke still get picked on a lot, everyone still had to admit she was pretty good. She scored well in writing tests like Sakura and was pretty good at practical stuff like kunai and shuriken throwing like the Uchiha. But it's also because of that, some of the kids hated Mononoke more while others had a new perspective of her. Either way, she managed to make more friends so she really couldn’t be bothered about the ones that didn’t like her.

Still, since she was always on par with the Uchiha in all the physical exercises, the two became almost-rivals.  Though he doesn't show it, the Uchiha was trying to best her instead of getting the same results every time. Mononoke doesn’t back down either and sometimes she’ll taunt him, like how any kid would when they win. 

But on the other hand, Haruno Sakura, her grades being about the same as Mononoke, although the latter doesn’t always get full marks like she does. Despite the close competition, the pinkette managed to be friends with Mononoke, even if they’re on different spectrums of personality. In Mononoke’s opinion, all she does is whine about Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. Ino, her best friend, and a whole lot of other girls in the Academy are like that too. They’re all sooo annoying.

The only girls that don't talk about the Uchiha 24/7 would probably be Mononoke and Hinata, another friend she got to know. A sweet girl but man, sometimes Mononoke feels she need to tell the Hyuga to speak faster and clearer more often. She’s patient with her but there is always a line somewhere.

Kiba, on the other hand, was glad at his decision to be the Mononoke’s friend. Like he said, friends always got each other's back. Whenever she got bullied by some of the rowdier kids, Kiba stood up for her and made sure they regret it. When he had difficulties in schoolwork or he had something that bothered him, Mononoke was always there to help him through it.

Funnily enough, Mononoke even got to know the Naruto kid. Even though the other kids avoid him and their parents gossip about him a lot, he always have a brave face. That was what made Mononoke drawn to him. They were alike in a few ways, always getting called out at, although they have different ways of getting over it. He's always pulling pranks and getting into trouble.

He even got her, Kiba, Nara and Chouji in trouble with Iruka-sensei a few times.

Like right now.

 

Mononoke bit back a laugh as she watched the Nara strain under the water bucket, "Man, this is so troublesome." All five of them were punished to hold half full water buckets over their heads for fifteen minutes for putting pins under Iruka-sensei's chair. 

Some kid ratted about them and so here they were. Mononoke kind of wanted to talk to whoever that tattletale was. Like, really _ talk _ to them. But this is pretty entertaining too.

The Nara turn to glare at Naruto, "It's all your fault, Naruto." 

The blond kid grinned at him, "Hey, even you admit that it was fun!" 

"Well, you did plan most of it too, Shikamaru." Chouji smiled lopsidedly, making the Nara grumble. Turns out after knowing the Nara, he was actually quite smart because he planned a lot for their elaborate pranks. He did the most of the thinking and the rest of gang execute it.

"I guess even Shikamaru slips up once or twice." Kiba sniggered and the Nara boy gave him an annoyed look, his cheeks with a slight tint of pink. 

"You're all being a drag." he huffed.

"I can hear you!" Iruka called from the empty classroom where he was marking through his students’ workbooks. Mononoke sniggered when the boys fell silent at the scolding.  Slowly, an idea began to form inside the girl’s devilish mind. She turned to the pineapple head, 

"Hey, Nara."

He glanced over her at the mention of his name.

"You've got a plan to get us out, don't you?" She said in a hushed voice. He blinked at her for a moment before he rolled his eyes, "Of course, I do."

All eyes were on him now. The boys started to whisper hurriedly to him, eager to know the plan. Mononoke grinned as he fell into her trap. She knew he didn't have a plan but it's because he's a boy, so to keep his ‘ego’ up, as Kakashi would put it, he would probably say he has one just to seem superior.

She have got him cornered.

He glared at Mononoke for putting him in such a troublesome position but she just smiled innocently at him. Lazy people always have the easiest way to do things.  But Mononoke could see in his eyes, a plan was forming. Slowly, an idea is coming into shape. She watched silently in awe at how fast his brain worked. Not like she was going to admit out loud but he is a little like a genius.

"Fine. I got it. So here's what we're going to do."

The gang of misfits leaned in closer to him in anticipation.

"There's only three minutes left anyway. Might as well wait." Was all he said. All of them groaned and edge away. 

But, true enough, three minutes passed quickly and Iruka sensei came out of the classroom, "Okay, you guys, now did you-" He stopped when he saw a rock sitting in place of where Naruto was seconds ago. The rest sighed in unison. Mononoke hunched a little, getting ready for it. Here we go. 

"NARRUUTOOOOOO!"

 

* * *

 

Mononoke pushed opened the door with aching arms. She whine as she closed the door behind her. Even though she’s a top student doesn't mean she doesn't get into trouble. What's life without a little fun?

"I suppose you got into trouble again?" Mononoke heard a voice inquired and a wide smile broke her face once she faced her intruder.

"Kakashi! You're back!" Mononoke leaped into his arms. He hugged her tight before pulling away to look at her face, "Only for a few days, kiddo. Then, I'm going off again." He set her down, and she held his hands, looking up with questioning look, "How many days?"

He hummed for a moment, "Maybe three, if I'm lucky. I'll leave tomorrow night if I'm not."

Mononoke nodded in understanding.

Kakashi's always going out to missions these days after she got into the academy. Being Sharingan No Kakashi is a pretty big deal. The two don't get to spend much time together anymore and it saddened Mononoke a little. At least he still smuggle her along on his less dangerous missions, but even that's kind of rare. On the brighter side, some of his mission mates are already familiar with her and they take turns babysitting her sometimes. 

Noticing the discouraged look on Mononoke’s face, Kakashi patted her head, " So, I heard you're doing really well at school. Although Iruka said that the boys are a bad influence to you." The change in topic perked her up. The two started to walk to the couch as she started to tell him about the four of the boys that she got close to and everything that happened when he wasn't around.

 

The next morning, after they finished their morning routines, Kakashi offered to take Mononoke to school. “Sure! I mean, you're the boss, whatever you says goes.” Mononoke said, trying to cover her excitement with a cool look. He laughed at his little scamp and ruffled her hair. They set off happily, with their hands clasped loosely together. Kakashi was listening to her rambles in content, letting her enthusiasm lift his spirits.

Halfway on the road, a hawk flew above them in circles. Mononoke noticed it a second after Kakashi did.

"Kakashi, is that..?" she asked, her heart sinking.

"Yeah. I need to go." He replied, dampening both their moods. They were quiet for a moment as they watched the hawk turned and head towards the Hokage tower.

Taking a deep breath, Mononoke drew a big smile and turned to Kakashi, "Well, hurry up! You got a mission to do!" Kakashi crouched down, still holding onto her hand and using his other hand to cup her head. "Sorry, kiddo. I'll make it up to you soon, okay?" He apologized sadly, rubbing his thumb against her bangs. 

Mononoke shook her head and threw him a hug, "It's okay. It’s because you're so strong, that's why you're needed, right?" She pulled away and gave him a big grin, "That's why I'm going to be like you too!"

Kakashi looked surprised at her strong response. Her brave face made his heart clenched with pride.

"I want to be strong, then I can help you. Then we can go on missions together!" She said simply. Kakashi took in her brave face, the way she stare at him in determination and he couldn’t help but give a low chuckle, "Alright then. I'll be waiting for that day."  He hugged her one last time before letting go of her hand. Taking one last look at her, he used a teleportation jutsu, leaving her behind in the dust.

Mononoke smiled at the spot where he was seconds ago. Well, it looks like she has a promise to keep. She turned around and started skipping to school happily.

 

* * *

 

It was another uneventful day at school today. Naruto did some pranks but they weren't full scale interesting, there were a few training exercises and all they did in kunoichi class was an easy test and that's it. All in all, it's just plain boring. 

Maybe, she should go look for Kiba and Akamaru later. They had to go their separate ways today because his mom picked him  from class today. But he said that they could play at his place later in the evening.

Whilst she was deep in her thoughts, she didn't noticed how strange it was that she took another route home. She didn't notice that she was at a place without many passer-bys. And she definitely did not realize how highly possible it might be to become a target of some sort.

Not until the last moment.

"There you are, monster girl!" Someone shouted as they shoved Mononoke from behind. She fell to her knees, feeling the ground scrape her legs. Mononoke turned behind quickly, to cover her back as she sat back on the ground. 

Standing before her was a group of kids from other classes. She recognized one boy from her class. Kai was a bit of a pushover but she ignored him most of the time because he wasn’t a bully worth her time. There were five kids looming over her, to be exact. 

The largest one stood stepped forward and sneered, "So you're the monster Kai was talking about!" He was much bigger than an average kid, with a dumb looking bowl haircut and shrimpy looking eyes Mononoke disliked immediately. 

Without warning, he grabbed a fistful of her silver blue hair and pulled the girl upwards until only her toes brushed the ground.  "What a joke. She's no monster! She's just a wimpy brat!" The boy said and threw her down to the ground, hard. 

M ononoke yelped quietly at the pain. That’s going to hurt in the morning. 

"Look at her, she looks like she's gonna cry! Are you gonna kwai, wittle monster? Are you?" The boy mocked then started to laugh like he's crazy.

‘ _ Okay, that’s it! _ ’ A surge of energy rushed through Mononoke as she gritted her teeth and glared at him, "No. YOU ARE!"  Kicking him in his happy bits (at least that's what Kakashi calls them), she scrambled to run as the boy shrieked in pain. His friends panicked for a moment, but Mononoke could hear his angry cries from behind her, "GET HER, STUPIDS! SHE'S GETTING AWAY!"

Mononoke skidded around a corner and ran along the alley. She climbed up a wire fence before leaping down without a second thought. She turned back to check on her pursuers and realized they weren’t letting up. The rest of the boys had strangely angry looks with their leader wobbling in pain behind them. She clicked her tongue in annoyance before breaking into a run. She took a few turns before she spotted a small field. 

There were a few sturdy trees close to where she stood. Then she heard the boys voices getting closer. It spurred her and she ran across the sidewalk and into the field. Climbing the closest tree she could reach, she shimmied up the strong tree as quick as a squirrel and hid herself among the foliage.

Just as she settled, they emerged from the alley. They looked this way and that, along the streets. Then one of them saw the field. And pointed at her general direction. Mononoke froze as they started to walk over. They had spotted her. At least that’s what she thought because when they called out, it was totally a different name.

"Hey, Nara!"

Mononoke flinched and looked down. She didn't notice him before because she was too frantic on escaping but there he was, lying his back against the tree beside hers. He was rubbing his eyes and looked as if he just woke up, no doubt thanks to that loud call.

The group of bullies got closer and Mononoke didn't dare to take a breath. 

Nara turned to them calmly, his face in his default unimpressed look, “What?”

"You seen that monster girl around?" The largest one asked. The lazy boy yawned, before scratching his neck, "What monster girl? I just woke up. How should I know?"

"He's lying! Cause he's friends with her!" The Kai kid shouted and the big guy turned back to Nara, his face red with anger. He grabbed Nara's collar and dragged the boy to his feet. Nara winced as the boy spat in his face, "Oh yeah? Well since the monster girl isn't here, we'll beat you up instead!"

 

Shikamaru's eyes grew wide when he saw the kid starting to raise his big, chubby fist up. He was just trying to take a nice nap before going home. Then, this bunch of troublesome kids came along,  asking for some sort of monster girl, and now he’s going to get beaten up? Shikamaru doesn’t know why but he felt his life flashed before his eyes.

Then, it was as if time slowed when something fell from the tree and landed on the larger boy’s shoulder.  The kid lets go of Nara out of shock and shrieked. Shikamaru fell to the ground with a grunt before looking up. He was stunned. 

Mononoke was hanging on to the large boy before she bit into the hand that was about to pummel Shikamaru just a few seconds ago. Shikamaru thought he saw blood seeping out of the boy’s skin underneath her teeth and the boy howled with pain. He shook her around, but she held fast so he threw her over his head. Mononoke slipped off and landed on the ground beside Shikamaru with a hard thud. The girl shivered and mewl under her breath before grunting against the ground.

Shikamaru placed a hand on her shoulder worriedly, his eyes not leaving the wailing boy, "Are you alright?" …That was probably a stupid question to ask. Of course she was in pain, the boy just threw into the ground like a sack of potatoes. 

But Mononoke ignored him. Instead, she pushed herself off the ground shakily.

To his surprise, she edged in front of him, her arm spread out to shield him.

"Don't bring him into this..." she coughed as she got up to stand protectively in front of Shikamaru. He felt her nudged him with her foot, as if she wanted him to run for it. What was she doing? She can’t fight with five large boys on her own! And why was she protecting him? She was just passing by, wasn’t she?

"You want me? Come get me." Mononoke taunted, and he saw her smirk at them. She trying to distract them! What for? They should just run from these crazy kids!

The large kid snarled angrily, "Alright, puny! You asked for it!" Then he threw a sloppy punch at Mononoke. 

She leaped aside to avoid it and land a kick to his stomach. He coughed and held his gut.  Pointing at her, he ordered the others to avenge him. The kids seem hesitant, since Mononoke did hurt their leader badly. And he's so much bigger than them. 

 

Mononoke tilted her head to Shikamaru and whispered under her breath, “Get out of here, idiot!” She readied herself, gritting her teeth.  Before the other kids was about to close in, the Nara stood up and stepped beside Mononoke. She noticed but she didn't look at him.  "This isn't your fight. Get out of here!” Mononoke said in frustration.

Instead he scoffed, "And let a girl protect me? No way." Taking a step forward, he groaned, "Even though it's troublesome, boys protect girls, not the other way around."

The big kid finally got to his senses and stood in front of his minions, "Come on, you guys! Are you seriously afraid of a girl?" His accusation seemed to fuel them and they came rushing in.

Even though what Nara said was pretty brave, Mononoke made sure to lash out first. Sh e punched a boy one head taller than her in the guts before scratching another's arm, causing red, angry claw marks to appear. The boys seemed to be everywhere at once. Then the leader bully pushed her onto the ground and started kicking her in the gut. There were more kicks now, and they started to step on her as well. 

 

Shikamaru had it easier. Only two of them were attacking him. He was on the ground when he saw it happened. Among the legs, he saw Mononoke raised her head, her eyes were glowing gold. His heart stopped at the sight.

An unholy roar came from the girl and she spun around, kicking the boys away from her. Shikamaru realized a second later the two boys that were kicking him had stopped. Mononoke pounced on the leader before grabbing him by his collar. She lifted him up until he well over her. The boy whimpered a little when he saw her eyes.  Mononoke snarled and threw him to the ground, making him cry out from the impact. Mononoke stood over him and began clawing at him with blind fury. 

To Shikamaru, it was like watching an animal fighting. Her eyes were wild and her hands were curled into claws. The other boys were edging away with fear.

The large boy tried to fight back at first, his punches wild and erratic, but then, his angry cries turned into screams for mercy as he blocked his face from her merciless scratching. It wasn’t until Mononoke slashed his arm and drew blood, causing him to let out a shrill cry when she froze. 

She stood over him, unblinking. Then Shikamaru gasped as the gold bled away, and her eyes turned back to turquoise. It was like she just realized what she was doing. She looked down at the bully, blinking with her gaze unfocused. He lay there, quiet as a mouse, his eyes welling up with tears. 

Mononoke hastily stepped away before closing her hands into fists.  "Do not ever touch me, or any of my friends, again. Do you understand?" She warned him, glaring him down, and the large boy nodded profusely. The other kids went to help pull him up, some of them limping from the bruises as they quickly made their escape.

Once she was sure they were gone, she sighed and closed her eyes, pressing a hand to her head. She looked like someone hammered nails into her head and now they're trying to pull them out. Slowly, she exhaled before dropping to the ground, her head in her hands. She hunched over, her body shaking.

 

Shikamaru sighed before scooting closer to her. He didn’t speak, letting her have a few moments to cry. He looked over himself, noticing that he only had a few scuffs and bruises and Mononoke had bleeding knees and more prominent wounds. He managed to piece it all together as she sobbed quietly in front of him. She was the monster girl they were talking about. 

He looked up at the sky, watching the clouds as his mind started to wander.

To be honest, it kind of surprised him that those troublesome kids hated her, also sort of didn’t. 

 

Mononoke was a popular kid in school, in both good and bad ways. She’s pretty nice with the other kids, fun and really smart, although he wouldn’t want to say all that out loud to her. 

But in another way, she’s also not afraid to piss people off and tells it straight at their faces. Shikamaru thinks it must’ve been Kiba’s influence on her. She was pretty quiet when the first few days of school. 

The school bullies never did liked her a lot after she punched a boy in the face for calling Choji fat. Shikamaru had decided then and there that maybe this girl wasn’t so bad after all, compared with all the other girls in school.

 

Shikamaru broke his train of thought when Mononoke coughed, a sob caught in her throat. She let out a shaky breath before wiping her eyes. When her hands fell away from her face, she jumped a little at the sight of him, as if she was surprised to see him still sitting beside her. 

Mononoke’s face was a bit blotchy to begin with but when Shikamaru blinked slowly at her, he noticed her face got a little redder as she looked away to glare at the grass.

Quickly, she rubbed away the snot and tears with her shirt, sulking a little, "Why didn't you leave too?"

He snorted as if it was obvious, which it was, to him at least.

"Well, it would be troublesome if they came back to finish beating you up." Scratching the back of his head, Nara look away, a bit flustered to say the next sentence, "Besides, you got beaten up really bad. I couldn't leave you like this."

Mononoke blinked at his reaction before she broke down into soft giggles. Shikamaru stole a glance at her, wondering why she had a sudden bright mood. After all, she just finished crying and getting beaten up. Did the bullies hit her head too hard or something?

He was taken aback when she grins at him, "You're kind of a softie, after all, huh, Nara?"

Shikamaru snorted at her reply. He leaned back on his hands, groaning, "Ugh, you're such a drag." He tried to play it cool by not looking at her.  Then he noticed she tried to get up, but she couldn't really move. When she did, she sort of opened the wound on her leg, making it bleed more. Mononoke winced at the pain then plopped back down, before glaring at the wound so angrily as if she glared hard enough it would close back and stop hurting. 

Then just as she was about to try to get up again, Shikamaru asked her quickly, "Is anyone waiting for you at home?" 

Mononoke turned to him, her eyebrows knotting as she frowns and shakes her head, "No. My guardian left for a mission. No one's home." 

That doesn’t sound good at all. Shikamaru grumbled, "Ugh… If that's the case, I guess I'll take you to my house. To get you cleaned up and all."

 

Mononoke eyes widened at the Nara’s generous offer. 

"Is that okay with your parents?" she asked, not wanting to depend on anyone else with wounds except for Kakashi. He had always helped to bandage any scrapes she had come back home with. And she’s seen enough to maybe be able to do it herself, right? But Mononoke was a smart enough kid to know the pain in her chest was not something to ignore either.

 

Shikamaru shrugged, "Yeah sure. You're wounded really badly. I don't think grown ups can push away a beaten up kid."

Mononoke relaxed a bit before smiling at him, “Okay then.. Thanks, Nara.”

A small smile grew on his face.

This is, after all, the most normal and nicest conversation they had ever had.

Usually Mononoke would insult him to make him show some emotion and he'd ignore her, or they would argue a lot. Before they were actual friends, and before the punching thing, Shikamaru thought that she was just another troublesome girl that would drag them down so he wasn’t really nice to her. Even when they became normal friends, they still squabble but it’s mostly for fun. 

Shikamaru got up carefully before nodding to Mononoke, “Let’s go then. We won’t get cleaned by sitting out here.”

“We could if it rains.” Mononoke said with a half hearted grin, to which Shikamaru answered with a roll of his eyes.

But when she tried to get up, she flinched. Shikamaru saw how she bit down on her bottom lip before pushing herself up.

He sighed wearily then he squatted down, his back facing her. He heard her make a questioning hum and he looked at her sideways, "Come on, I'll carry you home." 

 

She frowned, worried and embarrassed at the same time, "Uh, it's okay. You can just pull me up. I can walk.."

He sighed again, as if he couldn't believe what he's doing, "You're so troublesome. You obviously can't walk with that leg of yours. So hurry up."

Mononoke hesitated but he waved of his hands up his back, ushering her to hurry it up. Finally she grabbed his shoulders and hefted herself on his back. He grunted when she got on, leaning forward a bit. Mononoke immediately tried to slip back down, flustered, "Am I too heavy? It’s okay I can walk-"

Shikamaru spoke over her, "It’s fine. You might want to stop sharing chips with Choji, if that's what you mean."

"Sorry." Mononoke said quickly, her face heating up. She didn’t want to hurt him because she was a bit too fat.

Shikamaru shrugged, "It's okay. Just climb on, will ya? My legs might fall asleep then we wouldn't be able to get back." With that affirmation, Mononoke quickly got on and tried her best to stay as still as possible. Once he adjusted her legs a little around his waist, Shikamaru stood up and started walking home.

**Author's Note:**

> Yea, okay so if you're an old reader, I'm actually editing everything all over again because I feel like Momo's story needs improvements so don't worry if it's not as you've remembered, okay? :DDD


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